This is a different kind of episode than is typical; there's no book, no central text, not even a single, central event that guides the conversation. Instead, we begin with a few recent news items—speculation about Trump 2028, Speaker Mike Johnson's refusal to swear in a Democratic congresswoman, the stunning abdication of Congress as the shutdown continues, and, incredibly, a secretive billionaire and Mellon heir donates over a hundred million dollars to pay the military, among others—and then lay out our profound worries about Trump ruling by decree, and the coming of MAGA-style Caeserism. How and when might that occur? We discuss troubling signals the Trump administration is sending about upcoming elections, and especially the 2026 midterms; the ticking time bomb that is the Insurrection Act; how the right thinks about executive power (then and now), and more.Sources:Peter Rothpletz, "<a href="https://zeteo.com/p/trump-illegal-third-term-first-draft?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true">Trump's Third Term?</a>" Zeteo/First Draft, Oct 24, 2025Dana Milbank, "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/07/jd-vance-fascist-roman-imperialist-caesar/?_pml=1">How Reactionary is MAGA? Try the First Century B.C.</a>," Washington Post, Sept 7, 2022Steve Bannon interview with The Economist, Oct 23, 2025 (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijf7K_08YWk">YouTube</a>)Shawn Hubler & Laurel Rosenhall, "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/us/politics/doj-election-monitors-california-new-jersey.html">Justice Department Will Monitor Elections in California and New Jersey</a>," New York Times, Oct 24, 2025Steve Contorno & Ashley Killough, "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/25/politics/adelita-grijalva-arizona-mike-johnson-epstein">Frustrated Arizonans Have Waited More Than a Month for Their New Congresswoman to be Seated</a>," CNN, Oct 25, 2025Yoni Applebaum, "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/our-fragile-constitution/403237/">America's Fragile Constitution</a>," The Atlantic, Oct 2015Abraham Lincoln, "<a href="https://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/lincoln/lyceum-address-january-27-1838/">Speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield</a>," Jan 27, 1838Bob Bauer & Jack Goldsmith, "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/opinion/trump-insurrection-act.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uU8.Gy9n.dhNB5O9n9Kb0&smid=url-share&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">Here’s What Trump Could Unleash by Invoking the Insurrection Act</a>," New York Times, Oct 18, 2025Damon Linker, "<a href="https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/the-surest-path-to-dictatorship?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true">The Surest Path to Dictatorship: A Quick Plug for a Short Primer about the Insurrection Act</a>," Notes from the Middleground, Oct 18, 2025"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0E_K79dOWw&ab_channel=TheNewFoundingPodcast">Discussing Caesarism,</a>" New Founding Podcast, Oct 21, 2022. Harvey Mansfield, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Taming-the-Prince/Harvey-C-Mansfield/9780029199800">Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power</a> (1989)James Burnham, <a href="https://books.google.am/books?id=z9hqlf1HIZIC&printsec=frontcover&hl=hy&source=gbs_atb">Congress and the American Tradition</a> (1959)Garry Wills, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/298677/bomb-power-by-garry-wills/">Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State</a> (2010)...and don't forget to subscribe to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy">Know Your Enemy on Patreon</a> for access to all of our bonus episodes!

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